Nanami Nishida

Name: Nishida, Nanami

Gender: Female

Age: 15

Grade: 9th grade

Extra Curricular Activity: Sewing (as of previous school)

School: Rowan High

Appearance: Standing at an average height of 5'3", Nanami possesses a petite form that is slight of frame, typical of her age and asian heritage. Her facial line is somewhat rounded, giving her a childish look. Her eyes are long horizontally, though somewhat narrow in height. She possesses a small button nose and rather narrow lips. Rather average-looking. However, a point that stands out in her appearance is her smooth, light-coloured and nearly flawless, nearly perfect skin. The lightness of her skin is emphasized heavily by her black eyes, dark eyebrows that arch gently over her eyes, as well as short, jet black hair with ends that curve outwards. Her bangs are partially pulled back by a red cord-ribbon, leaving behind only a few strands bordering her forehead. Currently missing from home, had been walking home from school upon the day of her abduction, was wearing a school uniform consisting of a white shirt underneath a grey uniform blazer with a red ribbon tie, a red plaid skirt, white socks, and black single-strap shoes.

Biography: Born in America to two Japanese parents. Due to the fact that her parents divorced while she was still a small child, Nanami has always had to live with her strict, rather controlling mother, who was determined to prove that she could raise a child to success even on her own. As a result, not knowing how to act otherwise, Nanami grew to be entirely dependant on her mother, who stressed over her health and eating habits, her well-being, and her progress in school. As an only child living with a rather over-protective mother, Nanami struggled to please her mother by following her every order and trying to measure up to her standards. However, Nanami had always felt a need to be independent, to make her own choices instead of letting her mother do them for her. Instead of talking to her mother directly, Nanami found indirect ways to subtly rebel against her mother. For example, she would 'misunderstand' orders, or somehow 'forget' them. Or she may not comply at all and defend herself with excuses. Only on occasion would she make a fuss, or even an outburst, never knowing that she only had to talk to her mother in order to show a healthy assertion. To her, this was the only way she could feel a sense of independence. But her mother never understood, and only scolded her, thinking her to be troublesome. Always she would bring up the fact that she was the one who took care of Nanami when no one else would, and in return Nanami should behave like a good daughter and follow orders. Always, as a result of guilt, Nanami would return to her usual passivity, until she became irritable again. Thus, the result of Nanami's upbringing was her passive-aggressive personality. Though Nanami seemed placid and docile, in truth, she lived her life under a dark cloud.

At school, Nanami was always labelled as one of those quiet, passive girls who always showed politeness in front of others. The teachers liked her because she was always docile and compliant, always following instructions. However, she was never the favourite, because she never made an effort to express her own opinions or show creativity.

At the age of 7, Nanami moved with her Mother to Japan. It was since 2nd grade that Nanami had been close friends with a girl one year older, one grade higher, named Madelaine Shirohara. Upon meeting her during the opening ceremony for the school year, Madelaine almost immediately took Nanami under her wing and in return, Nanami latched on to her. Out of class, in and out of the campus, the two were a common sight together. Nanami's company was always appreciated by Madelaine, who made it a point to look after and always stand by the younger girl. While this sort of friendship between the two girls suited Nanami's passivity, Nanami soon began comparing herself to Madelaine while they became close. Madelaine always stood out for her coolness and maturity, as well as her confident nature. She was always looking after others, and though she never paid attention to the fact, there were people who looked up to the older-sister figure Madelaine Shirohara. Comparing herself to Madelaine, Nanami saw herself as plain and mediocre, having no special qualities of her own, and even went so far to believe that Madelaine only befriended Nanami out of pity.

Nevertheless, Nanami still felt obliged to latch onto Madelaine out of her passive, dependant nature, though resentment has been gradually growing inside, unbeknownst to all, including Madelaine herself. This resentment was probably the result of Nanami's realization that as long as Madelaine existed and remained friends with her, Nanami would always end up living in her shadow.

Although ashamed of the fact, Nanami was relieved when Madelaine finally graduated junior high school and moved on to America to continue with her high school education. But the relief was only fleeting. Nanami found herself suddenly lost and alone without Madelaine to protect her, for all the years spent depending on her. This fact only made Nanami resent Madelaine even more, for it only enforced her belief that Nanami was pitiful and dependant after all. With Madelaine, she was only a shadow. Without Madelaine, she was nothing at all. This was what she truly believed. She stuggled to get by on her own, though in her mind, she still has a need to latch onto Madelaine. Part of her resents Madelaine for making her feel lowly, part of her feels a need to hold onto Madelaine, even though she is overseas.

Although Nanami has made it a point to write occasionally to Madelaine, she has already accepted, and perhaps to some degree, embraced the fact that she may never have to be Madelaine's shadow again.

Just one week prior to abduction, Nanami and her mother moved back to America. Nanami had been enlisted in a school in the Oregon state, and had been walking to her new school for the first time during the time of disappearance.

Other: Being a undiagnosed passive-aggressive, Nanami has a habit of depending on others, and yet hates constantly following orders without having a say in the matter. She has never learned to assert herself in a healthy way, and may end up showing aggression in a manner that is potentially destructive towards others and herself. While deceptively fragile, Nanami can be dangerously ambiguous, sending mixed signals and sitting on fences. In order to make herself feel assertive, she may resort to lying and even keeping secrets. Though she is dependant and passive, she is mistrustful towards anything that may have complete control over her actions and feelings. Whenever she does something wrong, or gets into trouble, she always makes excuses herself, often twisting her own perspective so that she may see herself as the victim who has never done anything wrong.

She is bilingual, given that she was born in America and raised into early childhood before moving to Japan.

Number: 26

'The above biography is as written by LadyMakaze. No edits or alterations have been made to the author's original work.'

==

Designated Weapon: Tokarev TT Conclusions: Hm, it'll be interesting to see what the girl does in the ACT. It seems as if, left alone, she may not know what to really do, since she's depended on others for so long. But, then again, who really knows exactly what she'll do?

Game Evaluations
Kills: None

Killed by: Madelaine Shirohara

Collected Weapons: Tokarev TT (issued weapon, to Adam Dodd)

Allies: Madelaine Shirohara

Enemies: Adam Dodd, Hawley Faust, Amanda Jones, David Jackson, Marcus Roddy, Callum Hadley, Madelaine Shirohara

Mid-Game Evaluation: Nanami's game started on the dirt path, where she simply trekked down the path, trying her hardest to avoid all forms of life on the island for fear that she would meet her end at their hands. Her wandering eventually led her to the river, where she encountered the group of Adam Dodd, Hawley Faust, Amanda Jones, Marcus Roddy, Callum Hadley, David Jackson, and much to her surprise, Madelaine Shirohara. She was greeted in a friendly yet wary manner by Amanda, but David showed quite a bit of hostility toward her, unsure whether or not she could be trusted. It was when Madelaine approached that Nanami realized that the other uniformed girl was indeed Shirohara-san. While Madelaine embraced Nanami tightly in a warming hug, Nanami herself couldn't help but feel a tinge of disgust at encountering Madelaine once again.

It was as the girls talked that Nanami expressed her discomfort with the group to Madelaine and told her that she wished for both herself and Madelaine to leave them. While Nanami pleaded with Madelaine and seemed to be winning, Adam overheard the conversation and personally criticized Nanami for her actions (side note: this is known throughout SOTF as the "Morphine Rant", and is one of the more famous Adam Dodd rants). As per usual, Madelaine stood up for Nanami and welcomed her with open arms into their group. As the group pondered their next move, however, Nanami set to the side, slowly hatching a plan of her own. Eventually, Nanami told Madelaine she wanted to talk in private, and pulled her away from the remainder of the group.

Once Madelaine had been dragged into the treeline, it became disturbingly apparent that Nanami did not want to talk. Instead, Nanami aimed her issued gun toward Madelaine and, seemingly without remorse, pulled the trigger on her own best friend. Madelaine's friends ran to the rescue, but Nanami viciously kicked Madelaine away from them and held her at gunpoint, threatening to kill her then and there if anyone tried to stop what was going on. David didn't buy into Nanami's threats and fired off a shot at her, hitting her in the wrist (he'd intended to shoot her gun out of her hands, but missed). This caused Nanami to pull back on the trigger, sending a bullet flying toward Madelaine's head that narrowly missed and grazed her cheek instead. It appeared for a while that perhaps the group was making headway with their pleas, but their words eventually sent Nanami over the edge, and she vowed to kill them all.

Amanda Jones was to be her first unlucky victim, but before Nanami could pull the trigger of the gun, a bullet tore through her chest, causing her to go limp. Behind her stood Madelaine Shirohara, now holding the gun Amanda had given her sometime prior to the events. Immediately, Madelaine was screaming for someone to help the girl she had mortally wounded. Ironically, the only person of the group to come to Nanami's aide was Adam Dodd, the one person who'd constantly belittled and insulted her prior. Nanami's life was a lost cause, even she knew that. Now, her only goal was to take Madelaine to the great beyond along with her. Nanami pointed the gun at her once again, this time determined to end her life. What Madelaine said next would change everything for Nanami Nishida, however. In a truly heartwrenching scene, Madelaine apologized, and Nanami finally realized what a fool she'd been all along. It was too little, too late, however, and Nanami finally succumbed to her wounds, her last words being a barely audible "Sorry, Madelaine..." that wasn't heard by anyone but Adam Dodd. In the end, Nanami's apology ended up coming second-hand, and she'd never know if it would be able to make up for what she'd done.

Post-Game Evaluation: Could you kill your best friend? Indeed, it was a slogan the Japanese used in their Battle Royale Act, and this girl's story is a prime example. Nanami had hated Madelaine Shirohara for as long as she could remember, and the SOTF ACT had finally given Nanami the opportunity to end her life. In the end, though, it was Madelaine who killed her own best friend. So very tragic.

Memorable Quotes: ''She would know what to do. She'd stick by me, always...As long as I was with her, I didn't have to do a thing... I could always rely on her. I could just cling to her arm like a child, never having to worry about a thing, not having to make such hard decisions, never having to worry about looking after myself....'' - thoughts on Madelaine Shirohara

''This sucks. I hate this...Why me? Of all people, why me?'' - thoughts on the game

"We're gonna die, aren't we? Someone's gonna come and kill us....What'll we do...? What'll happen to us now?" - to Madelaine Shirohara at the river

"You're not going to let me go out there alone, are you? ...You're going to stay with this group, and leave me alone, then? You don't even know them that well! You're going to ditch me for THEM?" - Nanami expresses her wishes to leave the group along with Madelaine

''"You suck worse than ever. Who the hell do you think you are, calling THAT friendship?! Ten years spent following you around, living in your shadow while you took care of the both of us, always playing the protective older sister, always treating me like I was weaker than you. Because we were always together, everyone knew that I was weak! Everyone knew how I always clung to you crying like some pathetic little parasite! Everyone knew! Next to you, I'm pitiful. You don't know what its like to be me. You were always the stronger one, always the one in control, always the one telling me what I should do and what not, always knowing fully that because I can't stand up for myself, I need someone ELSE to stand up for me! Because of that....I've ALWAYS hated you." '' - Nanami's pent-up anger unravels on Madelaine

"But now...you guys tried to interfere. Fine...you're all her friends, aren't you? That's just fine, if you want to protect her so much. If you're so willing to die in her place, then so be it! ...All of you... I'll get rid of all of you first!" - Nanami addresses Madelaine's friends in a blind rage

"...You promised...if I go, you're coming with me. I'll make you keep your promise.... we can rot in hell together. You'd like that...wouldn't you?" - Nanami promises to end Madelaine's life along with her own

"Sorry, Madelaine..." - last words

Threads
Below is a list of threads that contain Nanami, in chronological order.


 * Girls 26 - GAME START
 * "Though We May Not Survive It..."

Your Thoughts
''Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Nanami Nishida. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!''


 * I don't suppose I realized how big of an impact Nanami had on Madelaine until I actually read back through the story to do the character evaluation. I always assumed she'd died so early into her game that she didn't have time to make much of an impact. Boy, was I wrong. The story of friendship and betrayal between Nanami and Madelaine is easily one of the more heartwrenching stories I've read in SOTF, and Nanami's revelations near the time of her death made me teary-eyed. In addition, I think Nanami's got some of the best, most heartfelt and sad dialogue in the whole game. - Megami
 * So yeah, I'm coming at this fifteen years after the comment above, SOTF has changed a bit, and I don't think Nanami works so well even in comparison to the more casual and wild style of V1. This is mainly because Nanami never really overcomes the sensation that she is a tool meant to create angst for Madelaine in order to feel like a fully thought out character on her own. One of the major ways in which this forms is through Nanami's inconsistent goals. At first she wants to stick to Madelaine and use her as a sort of human shield but then abruptly wants to kill Madelaine herself. Though both are driven by one of Nanami's few consistent traits, that being an inferiority complex of sorts, the shift between these two goals is not explained internally and has no clear external driver. She also is extremely quick to absolve Madelaine when she dies, which undercuts one of her few defining characteristics.

Nanami has other flaws as well that sit on the more technical end, such as basically only dealing with Madelaine and mostly avoiding interaction with every character that isn't Madelaine, but I believe the point has been made. Nanami is a support character through-and-through, and not a very good one at that. Not recommended. - Catche Jagger